Do Clogged Arteries Unclog When You Change Your Diet?

Adherence to Dr. Dean Ornish's regimen was also associated with moderate to significant weight loss.

While one groundbreaking study, conducted by Dr. Dean Ornish over a period of several years, has demonstrated diet and lifestyle changes alone can cause a reversal of blockage in the arteries, other studies have disputed some of its claims by pointing out flaws and calling for a longer-term followup. Nonetheless, the original findings of the study indicate that diet can have an effect on the arteries, and a healthy dietary change is a step in the right direction for anyone affected by clogged arteries.

Lifestyle Changes and Clogging Reversal

Between 1986 and 1992, Ornish conducted the first randomized, clinical trial to see whether clogged arteries could be reversed by lifestyle changes alone, publishing his findings in the "Journal of the American Medical Association." The study found clogging lessened after just one year on an intensive lifestyle change regimen and was reduced even more with each following year up to the five years the study lasted. The study's control group, meanwhile, experienced progressive clogging of the arteries and more than twice as many cardiac events as the experimental group.

The Suggested Changes

Ornish's study outlined very specific lifestyle and dietary changes for its participants in the intensive program. These changes included a 10-percent-fat, whole-foods vegetarian diet, aerobic exercise, training in stress management, smoking cessation and group support. While encouraged to individually seek a physician's advice, the group was also advised to avoid simple sugars and eat more complex carbohydrates. Those who stuck to the strict regimen were most likely to see significant results in their cardiac health.

Debate Over Study Results and Diet Effectiveness

A review published in October 2000 in the "Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings" notes while Ornish's study may have yielded positive results in the unclogging of arteries, it also contains a number of flaws. The review notes that Ornish's diet is nearly impossible to adhere to, the study itself contained relatively few test subjects and the diet could have adverse health effects, such as raising triglycerides, or fat levels in the blood, and lowering levels of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, known as the "good cholesterol." A study on the effects of the Ornish diet published in the "American Journal of Health Promotion" in 2007 concluded that while the regimen set forth lowers cardiac risk factors, it does not change the process of arterial clogging as it affects the carotid artery.

How Diet Can Affect Arterial Clogging

A study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in January 2005 compared the Ornish diet with three other popular diet plans and found each one mitigated cardiac risk factors and were most effective when adhered to strictly and correctly. The study, paired with Ornish's original research, shows there is a positive correlation between improved diet and arterial unclogging but that disagreement among researchers continues over the best diet for unclogging arteries and maintaining overall health.

About the Author

Alissa Fleck is a contributing writer for several community newspapers in New York City. She writes book reviews for an online magazine and hosts a monthly reading series. Fleck has also interned at a literary agency and worked as a university teaching assistant. She holds a B.A. in English and an M.F.A. in creative writing.